Specialty Tools Reviews

I have at least half a dozen of these action packers -- used them as luggage to bring stuff over to my place overseas. The arilines never hassled me about the size of them, and because they weigh so little, you can pack them full of stuff and not worry about bucking the weight limit. They are tremendously sturdy, easily locked with a padlock, and can be stacked and used as an extra bench seat in a pinch. Wal-Mart used to sell these for under $50 a few years back, but now you can't find them anywhere for less than the price listed here at amazon. But even at that price, they're worth every penny. So for college students, soldiers, homemakers, anyone who needs to store/ship stuff, these are the ticket.

I took this from FT. Bliss to Iraq and so far it has held up 10X better then those flimsy foot lockers that they sell at the exchange. definately worth every penny. Still locked, still in one piece, lid still closes. Looks great, and everything inside is in one piece. wouldn't trade it for the world. May even buy some more!

Got this as a needed accessory for my jet Lathe. Shopped around for a bit and settled on this chuck. The value is great. Comes well packaged with all the necessary items (including 50mm jaws). Delivery was quick (coming from Canada). Overall, price was very good for the quality and ease of use.

I've had my hands on so much Chinese junk lately, that I forgot what a quality tool feels like... and this is quality!

Oil-coated in a bag in the box but easy to wipe off (not the gummy stuff). Made in New Zealand. Comes with a set of 2" jaws and fully compatible with the other Nova jaws. Very nice feel, smooth working action with the levers. Already threaded with 1"x8, so there's no extra cost of an adapter. I'm glad I got this one.

I see that Amazon doesn't carry this item and it's listed on here by a third party seller. I can not make a comment on that sellers performance, I got mine at Woodcraft.

I found this to be a very simple and effective accessory for my Jet Mini Lathe. The various attachments allowed me to turn bowls and other similiar objects easily. For the money it is a great value!

I own the "original" Power Plier by SOG Specialty Knives; (i.e. the tool is stamped patent pending for the power plier gear), and for years it has never failed me. I am an Executive Chef and my Power Plier is used on a daily basis for cutting down boxes from stock, scraping/cleaning equipment, tightening things, you name it and it gets used for it in the restaurant! It has proven itself a worthy piece of kitchen gear right along side my Cold Steel Vaquero Grande, (which is also an original and about to be replaced by a SOG X-Ray Vision XV71 that I just purchased from Amazon). I look forward to reviewing it as well! My SOG has yet to 'wear out' as mentioned in another review. Maybe they've worn their tool's actual metal down from extreme use; because mechanically, you can't wear down a Power Plier! You can purchase replacement tools for your Power Plier from SOG directly if you need to.

I gave my husband this tool I believe 2 years ago for a Christmas present and he uses it so much on a daily basis that he's worn through the carrying case and he wore out the tool. It didn't wear out because of poor quality but because he uses it for absolutely everything, work and personal projects alike. He can't live w/o it.

If you are tired of bolting on faceplates and everything that goes along with that, then consider buying a four jaw chuck. This will enable you to work a variety of pieces all for the minimal effort of turning a lip on your piece that the chuck can grab. Much spindle work can be done without even making that effort. It's quite easy to set up - screw in the insert, tighten a hex screw, and then screw the whole assembly onto the lathe. The only complication arises from picking which accessory jaws to buy with it. These are numberless.

It's a bit embarassing to admit that I have two of these - due to a streak of laziness and an occasional excess of cash. the only thing I don't like about this chuck is that changing jaws takes time, and I'm the impatient sort. Keep in mind that no four jaw chuck is any easier to use, I just find it easier to remove one chuck and insert another than to keep fiddling with four seperate jaws. I wish that, rather than an insert that uses the lathe's headstock threads there was an attachment that let you use the morse taper. [There is one available from an aftermarket fabricator and as soon as I get motivated I'll order one and try it out.]

Once you have one of these you are going to wonder how you managed without one. Or two, if you are crazy like me. Teknatool also makes some lighter weight chucks that are perfect for smaller and mini size lathes. Their service is excellent as well.

Being relatively new to woodturning and wanting something to turn other than pens I bought this item. It is a nice solid piece of equipment. The hex t-handle is very easy to use to tighten with only one hand. So far the standard 2 inch jaws are all I have used but they work well when gripping a 1/4 inch dovetailed grip in the wood. The woodworm screw is also very solid in the wood. have not had a wobble arise while using it. When setting it up be careful not to loste the gasket material in one of the bags. This is meant to go into the set-screw channel to help holding the chuck to the insert. The jaws are easy to put on and change, I also bought a set of the mini cole jaws. Each piece of the jaws is numbered to match one of the pieces on the chuck, to fit they really need to go on their respective place. the finish on this chuck is nice and clean without any palpable rough areas.
From the reading I did I went with this as it seems to be a good mid range chuck with lots of available accessories. So far I would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone.

It's great for opening packages and bottles and tightening screws. While it's got fewer functions than a multi-tool or a Swiss Army knife, it's so much easier to carry around (on a key ring) that I use my Utili-key all the time.

I bought this as a gift for my boyfriend, and although he thought it was kinda hokey at first, he ended up loving it. It goes on your keychain like any other key, but snaps off easily by just opening it up (the blades.) The two screwdrivers heads work fine and are very hard and don't dull or warp with repeated use. The blade is RAZOR sharp and has yet to dull. It is small, but can cut through so much. A great overall buy.

Used this heat gun on 35yr. old window glaze. The heat generated by the gun made this job very easy to remove the glaze. I would recommend this product.

I bought this heat gun to heat PVC in order to bend it. I was using a butane torch and this works much better. It generates more than adequate heat, but without the problems of burning the PVC. It is light and easy to handle. I also really like the stand that is attached, allowing hands free bench work. The cool down feature works well, reducing the (in my case anyway) potential burns. I would definitly recommend it, at least for bending PVC.

This crank pully holder tool is far superior to the factory supplied tool. I have been using mine a lot doing one of our current recalls. Tougher and a better fit than the ones Mercedes sent us. It is worth the money! (14 year MB Master Tech's opinion)Assenmacher has the best customer service in the buisness.

This is an ultra handy knife from a great company. I removed the pocket clip, and it floats completely unnoticed in my front pocket. The steel is plenty hard, so it keeps a good edge. The S.A.T. mechanism(just a coil spring that flips the blade open with a flick of your thumb) helps make it the most convienient pocket knife I have EVER carried. always ready, always sharp, easy to clean(pocket lint and what not). I'll never touch another box cutter again.

Product installed as said and all hardwaer needed was here.
So much so I went to reodered and found it hard to find on Amazon fo reasons I cannot explain.
Can yo tell me Why?

After years of hitting glass doors or a wet shower curtain when scrubbing down in the shower, we finally have elbow room to spare after installing this curtain rod several months ago. I was worried that a regular length shower curtain would not be wide enough or long enough to stay inside the tub, but it works just fine.

I highly recommend this curved shower curtain rod to everyone who has a tub/shower, does not like glass door enclosures, and wants a bit of elbow room.